2018 Santa Cruz Nomad Carbon C-S

Now in its fourth generation, the Santa Cruz Nomad is about as downhill as you can get, while still technically remaining a trail bike.

This year’s iteration shows a shift to a lower-link mounted shock configuration – borrowed from its cousin the V10 – pushing its trail bike title to the limits and giving riders the sensitivity and overall progression normally only experienced on a DH bike. With 170mm of plush travel to play with, this bike will take just about anything you can throw at it.

But this is a bike that might be better suited for more technical trails outside the South Hills system. As Mike Kazimer described it for PinkBike, “…taking it on mellow flow trails is like forcing a mountain lion to live indoors.”